Fire damages home

VISTA -- A cigarette accidentally discarded in a laundry hamper
ignited a fire that caused $50,000 damage to a home late Tuesday,
fire officials said.

Brianne Cummins, 18, was awakened by barking dogs at the home in
the 400 block of Bobier Drive and found smoke and fire in the
garage and kitchen around 11:24 p.m., said Fire Inspector George
Lucia.

Cummins woke up her mother Diane Cummins, 45, and they escaped
out a front door, then realized that 78-year-old Tharon Cummins had
not come out, he said.

Sheriff's deputies Tim Matzkiw and Matt Stevens went into the
burning home and found Cummins still asleep and rescued him from
the bedroom, said Lucia.

Firefighters arrived shortly after and searched the rest of the
home and rescued several pet dogs and cats, he said.

The fire started in the garage and burned through to the
kitchen, said Lucia. Two pickup trucks in the driveway were also
damaged by the heat from the fire, he said.

The elder Cummins was treated at the scene for chest pain and
then taken to Tri-City Medical Center. Cummins' son Tharon Cummins
Jr., 52, owns the home, but was not home at the time of the
fire.

The 1987 wood frame home sustained $30,000 damage to the
structure, with another $20,000 loss for contents, said Lucia. The
family has been temporarily displaced until the home can be
repaired, he said.

Lucia noted that there were no operating smoke detectors in the
home at the time of the fire, and the family may not have escaped
if the dogs had not awakened them.